Please join me in welcoming Jo-Anne as Glow's new forum moderator. Many of you already know Jo-Anne from her loving, generous presence in the forums, and from her blog This Little Light of Mine, where she writes in memory of her daughter, Zia.

In Jo-Anne's own words: "Two years ago, I felt truly lost. Support for "babyloss" parents in my city and country as a whole was minimal, it still is. I listened to people tell me how I would get over "this" and have many more children, this just days, even hours, after we found out Zia had died and I felt ready to just give up, I kept shutting further down because there was truly no-one around me who seemed to understand the depth of my loss and that it was not as simple as everyone thought it was.

And then I came across a story much like my own one night while Google searching "stillbirth support". There was a link to the Glow site andI started reading so many stories, some much like mine, others different, all heartbreaking. I even found the courage to share my own. People so far across the world helped me find an outlet for my hidden grief, I could say how I felt, what was in my heart and even gain perspective. Other times, there was simply someone there to read/listen to my thoughts. I was later able to open up with some people close to me and accept their kindness, I was able to let go of some people who no longer served any purpose.

Glow encouraged me to keep writing and in doing so, I got to know myself, that my relationship with my daughter didn't have to end, that it continues, even though she's gone. I continue to tell my story, it changes and it grows. I was never discouraged from expressingmy thoughts, from loving my child, from remembering, from living. So this is my way of giving some of that back."

We are so glad to have Jo-Anne at here in this cabin with us. Her light—and her daughter's light—is so bright, we know she will continue to ensure the forums here are welcoming, comforting, supportive places for all who wander through this wood.

glow in the woods

Bereaved parents of lost babies and potential of all kinds: come here to share the technicolour, the vividness, the despair, the heart-broken-open, the compassion, and the other side of getting through this mess called grief.

Parents of lost babies and potential of all kinds: come here to share the technicolour, the vividness, the despair, the heart-broken-open, the compassion we learn for others, having been through this mess — and see it reflected back at you, acknowledged and understood.